Bryant sees upside and down to off-season moves

As a businessman, Kobe Bryant understands why the Lakers let Ronny Turiaf walk. The popular forward, a restricted free agent, had received a four-year, $17 million offer sheet from the Golden State Warriors and the Lakers decided not to match it.

But as a teammate and basketball player, he thought the decision stunk.

"I'm sad about it. I wish we could have kept him," Bryant said. "I love him as a person. I love him as a basketball player and I hate to see him leave. I just wish him all the best.

"He would much rather have stayed with us, but that's the nature of the NBA, man."

Now, Bryant is waiting to see what happens with the Lakers' second restricted free agent, Sasha Vujacic. The Lakers have offered a one-year, $2.6 million qualifying offer, but have yet to hear back from Vujacic or his agent, Rob Pelinka.

"I'm optimistic that we can re-sign Sasha," Kobe Bryant said. "We definitely should. He's turned into a fantastic player for us and I would hate to see us lose two of our key guys off the bench."

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